If You Only Learn 1 Mixing Trick, Learn This

[@ChristianIce]

If you don't have the lookahed option, make a silent copy of the kick, move it back the needed ms, and use that to chain the bass.

[@Dr-Curious]

Yeah - this was my goto trick for gates before lookahead appeared in DAWs. I HATE clicks on the transients.

[@garymedia7551]

cool to know what lookahead actually does. The prints and zooms into the waves were appreciated

[@clancybenedict6647]

Big Z will always have the superior tutorial 🔥🔥

[@brettshrekington]

Shoutout for you adding a “view products” button in the bottom left of the screen, allowing me to listen to your video with the app closed without paying for KZbin plus!! I wish all creators did this. It helps the viewer experience while also helping you make sales on your merch store. It’s a win-win

[@jorgedejesustejedavaldez5283]

Really Good Video! but I would like to add this: He is talking about the Whole Crest Factor of the mix, by reducing Dynamics you reduce the crest factor. The one of the most transparent way to do it is with a limiter that have look ahead. But be conscius that too much look ahead could kill your transients. That's why is important to apply other kinds of tools like Saturation, clipping, PRL Comp, etc, to reduce the crest factor in a more natural way and don't kill your transients in the process. Nice video btw.

[@bustamante-music]

how can you use saturation to reduce crest factor?

[@mccrabz8939]

​@@bustamante-musicsaturation is a form of compression

[@lo-dose]

@@bustamante-musicsaturation is just wave shaping.

[@zenoalteamusic]

For the people who use Shaperbox for sidechaing this is already applied, but you can manually change it with 'smooth' in the vst. Goodluck! Great video as always Big Z, never thought of this before.

[@Otchengazoom]

There is another solution for the 1st case (sidechain): use waveshaper (f.e. cableguys) instead of compressors. You can set everything manually under visual control.

[@lo-dose]

The funny thing is that Big Z has a whole video talking about shaperbox being the best way to sidechain. Guess in this one he was targeting people who are still using traditional compressors.

[@yeezythabest]

This track is gorgeous. Link ?

[@Saintfake888]

this might be the most underrated tutorial in music production

[@NikoBased]

Because everybody sidechains with LFO tools and vol automation now?

[@dalehutton552]

Thank you for the free lessons!!! And thank you for great clear and concise communication in your videos.

[@Jarxiel]

you only drop gems brother, thanks a lot

[@DJRob4Real]

Hey! Now I wonder how all those stock, Cytomic, SSL etc glue compressors work on the drum bus. Are they getting the job done or basically distorting the track? Thanks

[@djruslanmazaev]

very simple and clear tutorial, thank you 💫🙏

[@DELAYKLINIKEN]

Clear and concise ... Thank god ! You get to the point instantly....and my attention span can handle it. Big Thanks 💚

[@Q-T3K]

Brilliant video - thank you! Can you please explain the pros and cons of using look ahead time. Or maybe the different scenarios that would make its use more or less suitable? From what you've just shown here, it seems like you'd want it turned up all the time, right? But I know that's not the case...

[@EricFlorezMusic]

Just finished rendering my mix for mastering and this popped up. Lets go

[@sokoleski]

Great stuff.... very clear !! And just the right length of video. Many thankS! Keep'em coming please 💚

[@ignaciogalvan4799]

I've been using the Lfo tool plugin in a very similar way making a small delay avoiding the zero crossover point and it sounds great. I recommend it!❤️

[@lukasroman3641]

You can also use a track delay on sidechain track to make sure it works on time and don't have to make an attack on compressor to work that fast.

[@lo-dose]

How would this possibly work? If you delay a ghost kick it will just hit late. If you delay the track you are sidechaining kick to (like bass) then the bass will play late but compressor will work just as fast as it did before (because the sidechain signal is still happening at normal time)

[@lukasroman3641]

@@lo-dose use pre delay on ghost kick - let's say -5ms and than just set attack on compressor 3-4 ms to make sure it hits just before actual kick drum

[@cwehden]

your video topics seem to always appear at the perfect time, like you're making them for me!

[@JohnSmith-pn2vl]

Big Z always dropping the banger tips

[@Gedagnors]

Thank you so much for you video! I just don't understand why you have attack 10 ms. What if you reduce it to 0 ms instead? Will it do the same thing that lookahead does?

[@Pattarns_Music]

You get a tiny little click if the attack time is really low, most notably in bass sounds. Lookahead to 10-20 ms and an attack of 9-13 ms is usually enough to remove that little click. You need good speakers at loud volume to really be able to hear that click though.

[@Gedagnors]

@@Pattarns_Music Thank you so much!!!!!! I will listen more carefully into this!!!

[@arnaudsioen2329]

Thank you for the tips! Why do you put a slow attack if you want to reduce the pics pretty fast?

[@cspcreative]

This is solid education. Well done.

[@ronmoes42]

great tip, it is hard to get the loudness in a track indeed, i also feel having a good mid frequency in the mix will contribute to a loud mix.

[@prithivnatarajan]

i really liked this idea! I was wondering why we can't use a shaper (for eg from ShaperBox or etc..) and map the inverted frequency curve of the kick for the bass to duck it. would that behave differently?

[@lo-dose]

Does shaperbox need lookahead if you're using a sidechain signal rather than the DAW synced tempo? Does it offer lookahead? I can't even remember - gotta open a session

[@prithivnatarajan]

@@lo-dose i was reading some of the comments below and it says shaper box offers lookahead

[@eazybreezy6129]

I was just trying to research lookahead and sidechaining to get rid of clicks, great video. But how do you get your drums to hit hard if you're taking transients away?

[@lamhla4396]

Mind blowing video

[@tichwiseprod718]

the best audio youtuber much appreciated

[@oramics]

You have some great content. Slowly making my way through your tutorials and I always keep learning new stuff.

[@bassmanbri57]

Very good video, and so clearly explained. Thank you.

[@davidpurple3698]

Great video, thanks

[@isaeff_sv]

BIG Z IS ONE OF THE PRODUCTION GODS

[@sylvaind9086]

I guess if I started mixing two weeks ago, that would be my perception too. CLA, Clearmountain, Roger Nichols maybe, but...

[@dxboommusic]

GREAT AND VALUABLE SHARING TO LEARN MIXING 🔥🔥 GREAT WORK BROTHER

[@JayThomasofficial]

Best one I’ve seen in a year thank you for this and all you do

[@stradeup207]

Your tutorials are so incredibly informative and high quality. Industry secrets given for free.

[@bradparsonsmusic]

Spot on once again Z!!!

[@officialkronix]

Great tips on compression

[@gotmilkblood]

Love the work you put into visualizing these concepts. Fire vid like usual 🔥

[@fusionistaaaa]

So you are adding a limiter on the drum group with larger look ahead and on the master channel? For the drums do you just limit or you add gain too within the limiter plug-in, such as makeup gain for a compressor ?

[@movemint_official]

Cheers mate! Big love

[@fatalitydnb]

Cool vid, thanks. What’s the name of the song please?

[@Eric15d]

Why did you turn down the Lookahead on the master Limiter? Whats the downside of having it at 100%? CPU?

[@HappyBowser777]

Longer look-ahead times are safer, but less loud, and transients might appear to get lost in the mix a little more.

[@DrumNBassed]

Exactly this, when the Limiter has time to prepare for all the signal it will squash all of the transient information

[@BigZMusic]

Yeah it preserves some transients in the master and can also make the master “appear” louder. A long look ahead time can give a smooth sound which can make the master sound a little dull

[@GriffinPOL]

Does look ahead apply to Ableton compressor as well?

[@armandadkhodaei4926]

So we should limit our sound before limiting on mastering?

[@likeyouiam5996]

wow, such a simple trick. Thanks man!! Subscribed

[@lavoktyler8978]

Question were you using the limiter on a drum loop or was it on the drums bus

[@hearmenow909]

Nice tips, tune is fire.

[@Arthur.H.Studio]

Thank you sir

[@k691]

Please do a breakdown of this song

[@Alirezarecord]

Excellent brooo❤🎉

[@DJDOBREL]

nice stuff, well explained and for sure makes a huge difference.

[@Frank_Bowers]

Thanks for explaining!

[@squadkillersa7880]

thank you man❤

[@rguez2332]

High lookahead when using ProL2 for tracks. Low lookahead when using ProL2 for mastering. Thats what you mean?

[@boryskuczkowski]

Why is the attack so long?

[@ScottThePisces]

I want to know this too, because on the ProL2, the attack time isn't the same as compressor. It's the time it takes before the RELEASE kicks in, not the time it takes for the limiter to occur.

[@BigZMusic]

Attack time on a limiter is actually a knob to control when the release sets in. So it’s backwards from what you would normally think. Having a super long attack on a limiter means the release never really starts working, which actually makes the attack and release as instantaneous as possible

[@Gedagnors]

@@BigZMusic Wow, thank you for explanation!!!

[@lowbs]

yo thanks for this knowledge, I never really knew what lookahead could do for the whole mix, I always just assumed it was something to do with track latency

[@sha3439]

Release time for sidechain compression has always been my question

[@GeorgeDimovelis]

can you apply lookahead on the fruity limiter (for sidechain)?

[@devashishpareek5642]

Awesome lesson😊

[@Listosondabeat]

Thanks alot

[@sebrura]

2:01 Shots fired

[@JustinNovak]

Do we need to worry about latency when doing this? I have noticed that in logic you can enable latency compensation and I'm pretty sure it does in fact compensate despite other saying otherwise, just curious what you think Big Z?

[@youngkizzi9944]

Sick ❤ thank you so much for your time

[@R3GALMUSIK]

Good video, but whilst doing this, I noticed the signal touching the ceiling of the pro L2 without pushing too much, just like the normal limiting. Am I doing something wrong?

[@ziz194]

I mean sure you can do that, but you can also just use a volume envelope to reduce the bass volume when the kick plays. It is much easier and more effective to do that than to use sidechain compression.

[@regit4786]

every video starts like "that is nobody really think about" but in reality EVERY good producer knows it and mostly uses it and thinks about :-D

[@kamsky_ofc]

How would you do that with Logic stock plugins? Compressor doesn't have the support for lookahead, However Multipressor has one. Is that a way to go?

[@blackmirrow781]

man !!! it's great .. THX so much

[@TheRyanKellner]

Advice needed: I’ve been struggling with not getting loud enough masters I think because I end up making the kick way too loud in comparison to everything else in the mix. The mastering engineer either makes it too quiet to preserve the life of the mix, or too distorted sounding because there are too many dyanmics between the drums/other elements. I do side-chain the bass to the kick typically using soothe or another multi-band compressor. However, I feel that is not enough. Any tips? I do not think side-chaining the whole mix to the kick is the answer either. I honestly think that is just an EDM/FL Trap producer thing lol

[@politicum8113]

It's a good video, but there are 2 problems: 1 - in a DAW with delay compensation (like Cubase), it's much more profitable to use plugins like LFOtool or Duck. 2- On the master section, the lookahead parameter turns your clipper into a limiter. And the limiter on the master section is what kills the punch and smears the dynamics. Your mix is no longer competitive against the best modern mixes. What the author showed on the master bus needs to be done individually on the tracks, only then the drums and subs will take their proper place without distortion and loss of volume and dynamics. PS: -7 LUFS is not the competitive volume of a modern dance track. Especially when you consider that in this particular example there is no full-fledged sub. Any world-class hit in this genre will sound louder and more massive than this example.

[@MIDNIGHTCVLT]

It depends on the style of course, but for me when using the lookahead, the drums become way softer which I don't want

[@AVDRE]

Interesting, for me it's the opposite lol

[@DrumNBassed]

They become softer because they are not being distorted. Depends on how you want your drums to sound of course

[@MIDNIGHTCVLT]

@@DrumNBassed yep! If I use pro L I keep the lookahead at 0 but I play with the attack settings until I get it

[@graywyot]

Great video (as always)! Cheers

[@ItsGrantM]

Why not always put lookahead up to maximum? Is there a trade off?

[@Silentnarcotic]

Wonderful lesson ty sir

[@dominicstrike]

This is awesome!! You are a genius, thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@rajeshmirage]

Fantastic content bro .. this is gold😊

[@darrenrobinson8317]

A great little tip, niceeeeee.

[@pedroantonioferrer9469]

bro your videos are amazing thankyou

[@Lapography]

cool explanation

[@xd-zs7eh]

Does this only apply to edm songs or can this texhnique be applied to ither genres

[@PTFWWDB]

so did you do the ProC with lookahead, then bounce that bass track, and THEN do the limiter (and then bounce that or don't bounce that?)

[@Janomix]

Hi Big! I want to learn in your academy, but I'm from Chile, Spain language, any option to get translate courses? Thank you!

[@audiokingofficial]

Great thanks for sharing

[@TheMolysProject]

Awesome 👏

[@djmad]

Good one

[@raffa9783]

is there any negatives to a higher set value on lookahead settings? so if I want less digital distortion I crank up the lookahead and opposite?

[@snazzy4854]

wowww thank you!!!

[@HotelPools]

Why do I feel like whenever I add look ahead on the Ccomp it adds a tiny bit of latency

[@DycayBeats]

The real question is, does the lookahead feature work ONLY IF kick and bass are rendered?

[@David-gp3fd]

So we're sacrificing transients and dynamics in order to have it end up being played at the same loudness as other songs on spotify anyways?

[@rockepicmedia9079]

Thanks

[@RutgerS.]

Why on earth use a compressor for sidechaining when you have Shaperbox 3 installed?

[@tommyfeinstoff]

Very good video

[@Walid.OnTheTrack6725]

nice as always

[@eliaszerano3510]

I just use Shaperbox / Compressor /Volume shaper

[@joegagne9684]

Are there any downsides of using a longer lookahead time?

[@solarplexus7]

Playback feels laggy to me. But that makes sense. You’re literally adding lag

[@ANARCH3TYPE]

CPU usage will increase. Could make a difference if you got a lot of instances of the plug-in looking ahead.

[@ammarkhan3945]

Looking ahead to more fire content 👀 lol

[@Nightzone]

Is there any reason that he does not use this technique direct on the synth and vocal bus?

[@Livvux]

How do you record (and cut) your videos'?

[@holandesvoador7683]

I dunno how he does it, but if you also wanna record and edit videos yourself here are 2 free software for you: OBS for screen recording and Capcut to edit